"Reading is cool and so are you!"
September 29, 2015 8:32 PM   Subscribe

For nine seasons, (1995-2004) comedienne and actress Kathy Kinney played Mimi Bobeck, the "outrageously made-up, flamboyantly vulgar, and vindictive nemesis" of Drew Carey on the sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Lately, she's been busy with a new role: professional children's storyteller. Welcome to Mrs. P's Magic Library.

Background
* Geek Club Books: Mrs. P and her Magical On-line Library
" We wanted to recreate on the internet the joy and magic of hearing a timeless story told by a skilled storyteller—an unforgettable adventure that many children might not otherwise get to experience. We wanted to have a place where young people go on a journey taking them as far as their imaginations will allow. My partners and I grew up watching Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo and felt there was something missing on the internet like this for kids. We created a free site where kids find edutainment and teachers, parents and mentors have access to free resources.

...

Mrs. P shows kids that life is an adventure—and books are a big part of that adventure. We also know that so many kids who are readers and writers can be a bit introverted and don’t get acknowledged the same way, say, as someone who is on a sports team, so we wanted kids who do love books to know it is really is cool and Mrs. P thinks they are too."
In addition to youtube videos where Mrs. P reads classic stories to children for free, a small selection of free resources are available for teachers and parents, including coloring sheets to download and activity guides. Every story also offers read-along options.

Be-a-Famous-Writer Contest
An annual Be-a-Famous Writer contest is now in its seventh year and currently accepting collaborative submissions from grade K through 4 classes. In addition to prizes, winning classrooms have their stories read by Ms. Kinney on World Read-Aloud Day the following March. This year's contest's theme is Pets. Last year's winners were Ashley Alicea’s third grade class at W.J. Gurganus Elementary School in Havelock, NC.

Skype
Mrs. P also regularly Skypes with K through 4 classrooms of American students to emphasize a love of reading and storytelling with classic stories, poetry and songs. All for free.

Queen of Your Own Life
Ms. Kinney also co-authored a book for women in "the second half of life" back in 2010: Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman's Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve. The site's blog is still being updated with empowering "Queenisms™".
posted by zarq (10 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
You see, I never sided with Carey in his office shenanigans on the show, so I was delighted when "Evil Boss" Craig Ferguson became the World's Greatest Talk Show Host (YMMV), and am now happy that "Evil Secretary" Kathy Kinney is making good (and doing good), too.

I'm assuming that SOMETHING in what she's saying may turn out to be problematic for some of us, but honestly, I don't want to know.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:53 PM on September 29, 2015 [7 favorites]


I think the secret moral of the story is that, much like the main characters of Seinfeld, show!Drew Carey was actually the bad guy there
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:16 PM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]


Wow. What an awesome person. Off to watch!
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:47 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


:)
posted by tilde at 3:03 AM on September 30, 2015


I think the secret moral of the story is that, much like the main characters of Seinfeld, show!Drew Carey was actually the bad guy there

But that would mean David Cross' character was a Tragic Figure - OF COURSE, IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:05 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


This is great! I love that she's doing this.
posted by xingcat at 6:55 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


My partners and I grew up watching

I read that and I immediately flag as polyamorous! :)
posted by Theta States at 7:14 AM on September 30, 2015


Could be business partners... Get back on your jump to conclusions mat
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 7:46 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


Love this.
posted by arcticwoman at 7:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


I have been on MetaFilter in quite awhile. I came back at just the right time to discover this awesomeness! And she's been doing this for awhile too. Dang!
posted by mrzer0 at 7:48 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]


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